Football Blog (Page 218)

[ad_1] Antoine Griezmann has apologised to Atletico Madrid fans for leaving to join Barcelona in 2019. After five years playing for Diego Simeone’s side, during which he became one of the side’s most important players, the Frenchman joined Barcelona in a big-money move. Things didn’t go so well for him at Camp Nou though and last season he returned to his previous club on a two-year loan deal, which included an option to buy. That option has now been activated with the forward signing a contract that lasts until 2026 with Atleti paying Barca around €20m. In his first league match since that deal wasRead More →

[ad_1] Legendary Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has criticised the club’s new ownership, claiming the west London outfit have ‘lacked class’ since their change in management. American businessman Todd Boehly purchased the Blues this summer after previous owner Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Boehly has made a major splash since arriving at Stamford Bridge, spending over £250m on transfers in the summer and making headlines when he sacked popular manager Thomas Tuchel in September. Despite some turbulence and controversy, Chelsea have shown an improvement in form since the appointment of new manager Graham Potter andRead More →

[ad_1] Jurgen Klopp has joked he hopes rival Pep Guardiola ‘takes a sabbatical’ upon the expiry of his Manchester City contract. Guardiola’s current deal at the Etihad Stadium expires next summer, with the Catalan coach giving little indication thus far of whether he intends to extend his stay. Speaking ahead of Liverpool and City’s clash at Anfield on Sunday, Klopp praised his opposite number but admitted he would prefer for their legendary rivalry to be over sooner rather than later. Asked about Guardiola’s future at City, Klopp said: “I didn’t know that. I would prefer Pep to do a sabbatical for four years. “Actually, myRead More →

[ad_1] Antonio Conte has confirmed that Richarlison will miss Tottenham’s upcoming clash with Manchester United due to injury. The Brazilian forward, signed by Spurs in the summer transfer window, hobbled off with an injury in the club’s 2-0 win over Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening. Speaking after the game, Conte confirmed that the injury is bad enough to mean that he will miss the upcoming midweek game at Old Trafford: “Yeah for sure he’s out against Manchester United. He felt something in his calf and he won’t be available for that game. “I think he needs a bit of time to recover.Read More →

[ad_1] Second-half goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg earned Tottenham a 2-0 win at home Everton on Saturday evening. Frank Lampard’s side arrived in north London with the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League. The visitors firmly bolted the backdoor to desperately preserve that status against an early storm from the hosts in the opening ten minutes. The Toffees crept forward as the game progressed, ensuring that Antonio Conte’s prediction of a match that ‘won’t be easy’ for Spurs was fulfilled. In a bid to overwhelm the visiting rearguard action, Spurs pressed aggressively, committing plenty of white shirts forward when they wrestled backRead More →

[ad_1] Celtic responded to their early elimination from the Champions League by hammering Hibernian 6-1 at Parkhead. Ange Postecoglou was defiant in the face of the Hoops’ European struggles, and his charges came out with a point to prove on their return to domestic action. The hosts took a ninth-minute lead when a deep cross from Sead Haksabanovic – on a rare start following his summer arrival – was converted by James Forrest at Hibs’ far post. Celtic doubled their advantage another nine minutes later through Georgios Giakoumakis, who was able to guide the ball in following a searching cross by Alexandro Bernabei. Postecoglou’s menRead More →

[ad_1] Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has offered a withering assessment of Joao Felix’s complaints about his playing time, saying the forward is responsible for his lack of minutes so far this season. The 22-year-old seemed to be finally delivering on his £113m transfer fee last season before his campaign was prematurely ended by injury. This season, however, he has struggled to make an impact and has played just 29 minutes over the last four matches. Rumours have begun to circulate that Felix wants to leave Atleti in January, and has asked his agents to find him a move immediately. Speaking to Marca ahead ofRead More →

[ad_1] Mason Greenwood has been arrested by Greater Manchester Police for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. Th 21-year-old was arrested on suspicion of rape, assault and making threats to kill in January this year. The Manchester United forward has yet to be charged and had his bail extended in June. GMP have released a statement on Saturday confirming an arrest has been made regarding a man breaching bail conditions, with it being widely and credibly reported Greenwood is the subject. “Greater Manchester Police are aware of an allegation regarding a 21-year-old man breaching his bail conditions and an arrest has been made on Saturday 15Read More →

[ad_1] Say it quietly, but Manchester United already own the best home record in Barclays WSL history. United have only dined at the top table of women’s football in England since 2019 and have yet to successfully crack an established top three that has been a closed shop for seven seasons. But their win ratio in WSL home games is better than Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City. United have won 73% of their WSL home games, all but two of which have been played at Leigh Sports Village, now an unexpected fortress on Greater Manchester’s western outskirts. The other two games, both wins, have takenRead More →

[ad_1] Brentford have condemned the racial abuse received by Ivan Toney following their 2-0 win over Brighton on Friday night, and have urged relevant authorities to provide ‘strong support’. Toney scored a match-winning brace, but revealed on Saturday morning a racist message he had received from a user on Instagram. The striker did not censor the user’s name, with the culprit since setting their Instagram account to private and deactivating their Twitter account. In a statement later on Saturday morning, Brentford said: “Last night, Ivan Toney was subjected to disgusting, racist abuse via a direct message received on social media. “We condemn this discriminatory behaviourRead More →